Bedouin

The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically lived in the desert areas of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq/Kuwait). They began in the Syrian Desert and Arabian Desert and later spread throughout the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa after the spread of Islam. The word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, meaning "desert-dweller", and it is often used to contrast them with ḥāḍir, a term for sedentary people.

Bedouins are known for their traditional way of life, which includes herding camels, sheep, and goats. Most Bedouins follow Islam, but there are also some Christian Bedouins in the Fertile Crescent. Even though many Bedouins now live in cities, others keep their traditional culture alive. This includes their clan structures, traditional music, poetry, dances like saas, and other customs.

Urban Bedouins often hold cultural festivals to celebrate their heritage. These festivals feature activities such as poetry recitations, traditional sword dances, playing traditional instruments, and classes on making tents. Enjoying camel riding and camping in the desert remains a favorite activity for many urban Bedouins who live near such areas.

Society

The Bedouin have a famous saying: "I am against my brother, my brother and I are against my cousin, my cousin and I are against the stranger." This shows how their loyalties are organized, starting with oneself, then moving to family, and finally to a larger group. Their families, often living in tents, usually included a married couple, their siblings or parents, and their children.

Bedouin tribes did not follow a central government or empire. Instead, they were led by tribal chiefs, sometimes from special places called oases where trade happened. What kept the tribes together was a feeling of shared family history rather than just following a leader.

The Bedouin valued courage, welcoming guests, loyalty to family, and pride in their ancestry. Their society followed traditional rules and ways of making fair decisions, including a known practice called bisha'a, which was a method of finding the truth.

Traditions

Herding

Livestock and herding were very important to the Bedouins. They mostly raised goats, sheep, and dromedary camels. These animals gave them food, milk, and wool. Milk products were a big part of their meals.

Camels were very special to the Bedouins. They were a main food source and helped them travel. Camels could give milk even in tough desert places, and sometimes their meat was eaten too. The Bedouins loved camel races, especially during happy events like weddings or religious festivals.

Some Bedouin groups lived in dry places where rain was hard to predict. When there was no green grass, they would move their camp to find food for their animals. In places with more regular rain, like farther south, they would plant grains for their animals to eat in winter. In some areas with good rainfall, like western Africa, they would plant crops near their homes and move their animals to higher lands with grass.

Oral poetry

Oral poetry was a favorite activity among the Bedouins. Having a poet in a tribe was something to be proud of. Poetry was not just for fun—it was also used to share news and keep order in the community. Bedouin poetry, called nabati poetry, was often spoken in their local language. Other types of Arabic poetry were usually in a more formal language called Modern Standard Arabic.

Raiding or ghazw

See also: 1757 Hajj caravan raid and Ikhwan raids on Transjordan

The Bedouin tribes had a tradition of raiding other tribes, groups traveling together, or small towns. This was called ghazw in their language.

History

Early history

The Bedouin have lived as nomadic herders, farmers, and sometimes fishers in the Syrian steppe since around 6000 BCE. By about 850 BCE, they had created a network of settlements and camps. The earliest Arab tribes came from the Bedouin.

By the time of the Roman Empire, the Bedouin had a clear identity and were known as a single group with many families, clans, and tribes. They made money by taxing caravans and collecting gifts from non-Bedouin settlements. They also earned money by moving goods and people across the desert in caravans led by camels. Because water and land for animals were scarce, they had to move often.

The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta wrote that in 1326, on his way to Gaza, Egyptian officials had a checkpoint at Qatya on the north coast of Sinai. There, Bedouin helped guard the road and catch people trying to cross the border without permission.

Ottoman period

In 1757, Bedouin tribes led by Qa'dan al-Fayez attacked a group of people traveling to holy places. This was because the leaders were angry that the Ottomans had not paid them for helping protect travelers. Many people were hurt or lost during this event.

During the Ottoman land changes in 1858, new laws were made that affected Bedouin lands. Because of changes in rules and loss of land, many Bedouin had to change their way of life.

By the late 1800s, the leader Abdülhamid II moved many people to areas where Bedouin lived. This made many Bedouin unhappy because new settlers took over their lands.

Ottoman leaders also allowed rich people to buy large pieces of land, often taking land that belonged to Bedouin.

In the late 1800s, many Bedouin began living in one place instead of moving. The Ottoman leaders wanted Bedouin to settle down because they saw them as a challenge to control. During World War I, some Bedouin fought with the Ottomans, but others switched to fight against them after meeting with a British agent.

In the 20th century

In the early 1900s, some Bedouin still followed old traditions, such as stealing animals in contests called ghazzu. One story tells of a leader named Mithqal Al-Fayez who learned of a planned attack and set a trap, catching one of the attackers.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many Bedouin moved to cities in the Middle East. This happened because lands for animals became scarce and populations grew. Severe droughts, like one in Syria from 1958 to 1961, forced many to find new jobs. Governments encouraged settlement, seeing the Bedouin way of life as outdated. Some Bedouin chose to settle for better living standards.

In the 21st century

Gulf States have brought back some Bedouin traditions like falconry, horse and camel races, and pearl-diving to celebrate their history. Some Bedouin now raise white doves or learn falconry to connect with their past.

In different countries

Saudi Arabia

The Arabian Peninsula was one of the original homes of the Bedouin. From there, they started to spread out to surrounding deserts, forced out by the lack of water and food. According to tradition, Arabian Bedouin tribes are descendants of two groups: Qahtanis, also known as Yaman, who originate from the mountains of Southwestern Arabia, and Adnanis, who originate in North-Central Arabia.

A number of Bedouin tribes reside in Saudi Arabia. Among them are Anazzah, Juhaynah, Shammar, al-Murrah, Mahra, Dawasir, Harb, Ghamid, Mutayr, Subay', 'Utayba, Bani Khalid, Qahtan, Rashaida, and Banu Yam. Saudi Arabia pursued a policy of sedentarization in the early 20th century. As a result, the number of Bedouin that retain their nomadic lifestyle has decreased rapidly.

Kuwait

In the 1960s and 1970s in Kuwait, politicians enfranchised Bedouin at the Saudi Arabian border and gave them passports to increase support for the fragile parliament. Despite Kuwait being a highly urbanized state with little to no remaining nomadic population, politicians have also since weaponized perceived differences between the hadar (sedentary Arabs) and Bedouins.

Qatar

After the 1996 Qatari coup attempt, the Qatari government jailed multiple members of the al-Murrah tribe which supported Saudi Arabia, and temporarily revoked the citizenship of tribe members. Many remained incarcerated until 2010, when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia requested their release. During the 2017 Gulf blockade of Qatar, the Saudi government encouraged Qatari Bedouin to assemble on the Saudi side of the border, leading Qatar to revoke the passports of about fifty al-Murrah members.

Syria

The Syrian Desert was the original homeland of the Arab Bedouin tribes. Today there are over a million Bedouin living in Syria, making a living herding sheep and goats. The largest Bedouin clan in Syria is called Ruwallah who are part of the 'Anizzah tribe. Another famous branch of the Anizzah tribe is the two distinct groups of Hasana and S'baa who largely arrived from the Arabian peninsula in the 18th century.

Herding among the Bedouin was common until the late 1950s, when it effectively ended during a severe drought. Due to the drought, many Bedouin were forced to give up herding for standard jobs. Another factor was the formal annulling of the Bedouin tribes' legal status in Syrian law in 1958.

There are numerous types of Bedouins in Syria: Hourani Bedouins, Mesopotamian Bedouins, and a few Bedouin tribes in various governorates.

As a result of the Syrian Civil War, some Bedouins became refugees and found shelter in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and other states.

Lebanon

Bedouins are concentrated in the Beqaa Governorate, although they form a minority there. Many Lebanese people from all over Lebanon have some Arab Bedouin origins, since Arabs migrated to Lebanon from Yemen & Saudi Arabia.

In the present day, Bedouin communities, particularly in Lebanon’s southern border region, have undergone significant socio-cultural changes, shifting from a traditionally nomadic lifestyle to settled farming.

Palestine

Palestinian Bedouins were originally from the Negev Desert. In the course of the 1948 Palestine war, they fled or were displaced from their land. Other Bedouins were expelled from the Negev in 1953 and had relocated to the West Bank. Today, there are 40,000 Bedouins in the whole of the West Bank, including 27,000 people under Israeli military control in Area C. Unlike Negev Bedouins, West Bank Bedouins are not Israeli citizens. Bedouin communities in the West bank have been targeted with forcible relocations to townships to accommodate the growth of illegal Israeli settlements on the outskirts of East Jerusalem. Bedouins also live in the Gaza Strip.

Israel

Prior to the 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence, an estimated 65,000–90,000 Bedouins lived in the Negev desert. All Bedouins residing in Israel were granted citizenship in 1954. As of 2020, there are 210,000 Bedouins in Israel: 150,000 in the Negev, 50,000 in Galilee and the Jezreel Valley, and 10,000 in the central region of Israel. Galilee Bedouins have been living in the northern part of Israel for four centuries.

The Bedouin who remained in the Negev belonged to the Tiaha confederation as well as some smaller groups such as the 'Azazme and the Jahalin. After 1948, some Negev Bedouins were displaced. The Jahalin tribe, for instance, lived in the Tel Arad region of the Negev prior to the 1950s. They ended up in the so-called E1 area East of Jerusalem. Famously, Bedouin shepherds were the first to discover the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of Jewish texts from antiquity, in the Judean caves of Qumran in 1946.

In September 2011, the Israeli government approved a five-year economic development plan called the Prawer plan. One of its implications is a relocation of some 30,000-40,000 Negev Bedouin from areas not recognized by the government to government-approved townships. In a 2012 resolution the European Parliament called for the withdrawal of the Prawer plan and respect for the rights of the Bedouin people.

Jordan

Most of the Bedouin tribes migrated from the Arabian Peninsula to what is Jordan today between the 14th and 18th centuries. They are often referred to as a backbone of the Kingdom, since Bedouin clans traditionally support the monarchy.

Most of Jordan's Bedouin live in the vast wasteland that extends east from the Desert Highway. The eastern Bedouin are camel breeders and herders, while the western Bedouin herd sheep and goats. Some Bedouin in Jordan are semi-nomads.

The largest nomadic groups of Jordan are the Bani Hasan, Bani Sakher, Banū Laith, and Howeitat. There are numerous lesser groups, such as the al-Sirḥān, Banū Khālid, Hawazim, ʿAṭiyyah, and Sharafāt. The Ruwālah (Rwala) tribe, which is not indigenous, passes through Jordan in its yearly wandering from Syria to Saudi Arabia.

The Jordanian government provides the Bedouin with different services such as education, housing and health clinics.

Egypt

Bedouins in Egypt mostly reside in the Sinai Peninsula, Matruh, Red Sea governate, eastern parts of Sharqia governate, Suez, Ismailia and in the suburbs of the Egyptian capital of Cairo. Traditional Bedouin culture was affected by the establishment of resort towns on the Red Sea coast, such as Sharm el-Sheikh. In the wake of urbanization and educational opportunities, many Bedouins now marry outside their tribe, a practice that once was frowned upon.

Bedouins living in the Sinai Peninsula did not benefit much from the construction boom due to the low wages offered. Sudanese and Egyptian workers were brought in as construction workers instead. When the tourist industry started to bloom, local Bedouins became cab drivers, tour guides and managers of campgrounds and coffee shops.

In most countries in the Middle East, the Bedouin have no land rights, only users' privileges, and it is especially true for Egypt. Since the mid-1980s, Bedouins who held desirable coastal property have lost control of much of their land, which was sold by the Egyptian government to hotel operators.

In the summer of 1999, the Egyptian army bulldozed Bedouin-run tourist campgrounds north of Nuweiba as part of the final phase of hotel development overseen by the Tourist Development Agency (TDA).

Maghreb

The Arab migration to the Maghreb had been a centuries-long process that continuously occurred since the 7th century. The initial waves of migration from the 7th to the 10th centuries mostly involved sedentary Arabs who established communities in cities, towns and surrounding rural areas. However, the Arab migrations from the 11th to the 15th centuries involved a significant influx of a great amount of nomadic Bedouin tribes to the region.

In the 11th century, the Bedouin tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, who originated from central and north Arabia respectively, living at the time in a desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, moved westward into the Maghreb areas and were joined by the Bedouin tribe of Ma'qil, which had its roots in South Arabia, as well as other Arab tribes.

The 11th century witnessed the most significant wave of Arab migration, surpassing all previous movements. This event unfolded when the Zirid dynasty of Ifriqiya proclaimed its independence from the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. In retribution against the Zirids, the Fatimids dispatched large Bedouin Arab tribes, mainly the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, to defeat the Zirids and settle in the Maghreb.

According to Ibn Khaldun, they were accompanied by their wives, children and stock. They settled in the Maghreb after repeatedly fighting battles against the Berbers. They heavily transformed the culture of the Maghreb into Arab culture, and spread nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant. It played a major role in spreading Bedouin Arabic to rural areas such as the countryside and steppes, and as far as the southern areas near the Sahara.

These Bedouin tribes emerged into several contemporary sub-tribes. The most well known Bedouin tribes in Algeria include Awlad Sidi Shaykh, Ouled Naïl, Chaamba, Doui-Menia and Hamyan, who primarily live in the Algerian Desert.

The Maghrebi Bedouin dialects, often called Hilalian dialects, are used in the regions of Morocco Atlantic coast, in regions of High Plains and Sahara in Algeria, in regions of Tunisian Sahel and in regions of Tripolitania. The Bedouin dialects has four major varieties: Sulaym dialects, Eastern Hilal dialects, Central Hilal dialects, Western Hilal dialects, and Maqil dialects.

Tribes and populations

There are many Bedouin tribes, but it can be hard to know exactly how many people belong to them, especially because many Bedouin families no longer move around as they used to. Below is a list of some Bedouin tribes and where they come from.

• Otaibah, located in Najd and Hijaz, found mainly in the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Harb, located in the Arabian Peninsula.
• Beni Sakher, located in Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. Families in the tribe such as the Al-Fayez, Al-Zaben, Al Hgeish, Al-Jboor, and the Al-Khreisheh represent the tribe in Jordan and have important roles in the country after the Hashemites. There are other families that are smaller in size including Al-Mteirat, Al-Hamed, Al-Badarin, and Al-Othman.
• Banu Hilal, located in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The tribe originated in Najd, but moved in the 11th century to North Africa in what is famously known as Taghribat Bani Hilal.
• Banu Sulaym, located in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Syria.
• 'Anizzah, some of the clans of this tribe are Bedouins, they live in northern Saudi Arabia, western Iraq, the Gulf states, Syrian steppe and in Bekaa.
• 'Azazima, Negev desert and Egypt.
• Beni Hamida, east of Dead Sea, Jordan.
• Banu Yam centered in Najran Province, Saudi Arabia and Iraq and is divided into Bedouins and urban
• Al Bu Shamis (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Na'im (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Nu'aym (Tribe), southern and central Syria, particularly Golan Heights, Hauran and Homs
• Balush (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Bani Qitab (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Bani Kaab (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Khawatir (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Ghafalah (Tribe), Buraimi, Sultanate Of Oman - Al Ain City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dulaim, a very large and powerful tribe in Al Anbar, Western Iraq.
• al-Amad (alAmad, Al Amad, Al-Amad family) of al-Umdah clan ("The Mayors Tribe"), one of the smaller yet prominent tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. Mostly scattered across Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Palestine and United Arab Emirates. This tribe is also associated with Samaritan ancestry (Samaritans).
• al-Abadi "Abadi clan" mostly based in Jordan. Very well respected across the country with influential positions in the Army and national services.
• al-Duwasir, also known as al-Dousari located in central Saudi Arabia, especially Wadi Al-Dawasir, as well as Eastern Arabia in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.
• Ghamid, large tribe from Al-Bahah Province, Saudi Arabia, mostly settled, but with a small Bedouin section known as Badiyat Ghamid.
• al-Hadid, large Bedouin tribe found in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. Now mostly are settled in cities such as Haditha in Iraq, Homs & Hama in Syria, and Amman in Jordan.
• al-Howeitat, one of the largest tribes in Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, and eastern Egypt. The descends from Judham, an ancient north Arabian Qahtanite tribe.
• Qahtan, one of the largest tribes in the Arabian Peninsula. The Bedouin portion of the tribe roamed an area extended from the South of Najd to the Southwest of Saudi Arabia.
• Al-Dhafeer in Northeast Saudi Arabia, Southern Iraq, and Kuwait.
• Mawali, central and northern Syria
• Mutayr in Central and Eastern Saudi Arabia.
• Bani Khalid, some of its clans are Bedouins in Eastern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Syria.
• Al Murrah are one of the largest and powerful tribes of the Arabian Peninsula covering Southeastern Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. The tribe historically roamed the Empty Quarter desert.
• Ajman of Eastern Saudi Arabia.
• al-Mawasi, a group living on the central Gaza Strip coast.
• Ma'qil, a Bedouin tribe of Yemeni origin, located in Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and west Algeria.
• Muzziena tribe in Dahab and South Sinai (Egypt).
• Shahran (al-Ariydhah), a very large tribe residing in the area between Bisha, Khamis Mushait and Abha. Al-Arydhah 'wide' is a famous name for Shahran because it has a very large area, in Saudi Arabia.
• Shammar, a very large and influential tribe. The Bedouins of this tribe live in Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan. Descended from the ancient tribe of Tayy from Najd.
• Subay', Some of the clans of this tribe are bedouins and live in the far south of the Najd region.
• Tarabin—one of the largest tribes in Egypt (Sinai) and Israel (Negev).
• Tuba-Zangariyye, Israel near the Jordan river cliff in the Eastern Galilee.
• Al Wahiba, a large tribe in Oman residing in the Sharqiya Sands, also known as the Wahiba Sands
• Al Rashaida is originally a tribe from the Hejaz, but large portions of it have migrated to Eritrea and Eastern Sudan. Although bedouins from other tribes have migrated with them as well, the name has come to refer to all of them.